Should let this miserable company die, keep throwing good money after bad
The money can be better spent in so many other schemes, especially education and healthcare
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd plans to raise about US$300 million through a rights offering, sources said on Monday, as the struggling contract chip maker faces a grim future amid the global economic slowdown.
The plans to hit up existing shareholders for money mark the fourth rights offering since late last year backed by Temasek Holdings, Singapore's state investment company.
Chartered Semi's Singapore listed shares, already battered by weak results and outlook, fell 6 per cent to 23 cents after the initial Reuters report on the offering. Stocks usually fall on news of rights offerings because they tend to price at a discount and dilute shareholders.
Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are working with Chartered Semi on the offering, sources said. Chartered Semi, Temasek and the banks either declined to comment or could not immediately be reached.
The sources did not want to be named because they were not authorised to speak on the record about the matter.
Temasek owns about 59 per cent of the company. The investor supported a rights offering from Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered last November, as well as a February offering from DBS Group , Southeast Asia's biggest bank.
Indonesia's fifth-largest lender PT Bank Danamon Tbk, controlled by Temasek, aims to raise US$347 million in a rights offering.
